Page 65 of Into the Shadows

“Those aren’t going to work on me. I taught you how to wield them.”

Caroline drops the expression and grins at her sister. “I forgot.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Caro turns to me. “Will you ride the rollercoasters with me?”

I keep my expression neutral. “No.”

Lottie giggles at Caroline’s pout. “You two suck. Fine. I’ll find Adalaide. She’ll ride the rides with me.”

I have yet to meet Ryan’s middle sister, but from what I’ve been told, she’s an even bigger daredevil than Caroline.

Caro pulls out her phone, her attention moving from us in a heartbeat. With the distraction, I wrap my arm around Lottie’s waist to yank her closer to me. The whole town is here, so I feel like I need to be on my best behavior. I want to kiss the shit out of Lottie. Instead, I press one to her forehead.

“What are the chances we could make out on the Ferris wheel?” Lottie looks up at me with innocent eyes.

“Zero.” I lean down to whisper in her ear. “But I’ll take you home and fuck you hard right now if you want.”

Lottie shivers. “Later. Definitely later.”

I smirk at her. “Got it.” We keep walking down the main drag of the fair. Roller coasters and carnival games line the strip. People are everywhere. It’s overwhelming, to say the least, but I can’t deny that I’m having fun.

Lottie told me the town started bringing in a carnival about ten years ago to celebrate the beginning of spring. It turned into a celebration before tourist season hits, when the town becomes overrun with strangers until Labor Day.

Apparently, they were put on a top-ten list for small-town vacations a while back, and since then, they’ve become a booming tourist destination. The downtown area looks like it belongs on a postcard, so I guess it fits.

“How about we make a bet?” Lottie gets that gleam in her eye that I love.

“A bet?”

“Yeah. If I win a carnival game, you have to ride the Ferris wheel with me.”

“Okay. I’ll take that bet.”

She grabs my hand and drags me across the field toward the target shooting game. There are stuffed animals and ten-cent prizes scattered around the booth. The targets are a myriad of animals rotating through a cartoon scene of a pond. I start to grab my wallet when Lottie slaps down a five.

“I could’ve paid for it.” I frown at her.

“Never use someone else’s money for your own bets.”

“Who said that?”

Lottie grins. “My dad.” Then she laughs. “Although he probably got it from someone else.”

I wave my hand to tell her to carry on. She grabs a gun after the attendant takes her money and proceeds to knock down every single target she shoots at. A tap to my chin makes me close my mouth, and I’m met with a smug Lottie.

“Soooo. Ferris wheel?”

“I just got scammed. You hustled me.”

Lottie laughs long and loud, and I can’t help it. I cup her face and kiss the hell out of her.

“I should be punching you”—the voice has me pulling away from Lottie to see Cooper, standing next to his wife with his hands on his hips, fighting a smile—“but I know you just got your ass handed to you, so I won’t add insult to injury.”

Keeping my arm around Lottie’s waist, I turn toward Cooper. “I’m assuming her skill is your handiwork?” I thought I’d be intimidated by Lottie’s dad for a while longer, but all I feel is respect for how much he loves his girls. He’s also only ever shown me the same, despite blustering a bit after he found out I was dating Lottie.

“Couldn’t stop her from playing, so I figured I should teach her how to win.”

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